There was nothing special in U.S. President George W Bush's

There was nothing special in U.S. President George W Bush's flying visit to Bali. The "celebration" readily went with the wind. Government officials were the only ones who clapped their hands out of relief that no incident occurred during Bush's visit.

There was also no special statement from both Bush and Megawati Soekarnoputri, as well as the religious leaders. There was nothing of special value that could be gained from Bush's visit to Indonesia. It was only a fruitless talk.

One of the things raised by KH Hasyim Muzadi, one of the religious leaders invited to have talks with Bush, was the pressure for pesantrens, or Islamic boarding schools, to change their curricula. He said this is a form of intervention which has never happened before.

Hasyim's feeling represents Bush's flattery that the war against terrorism is not a war against Islam.

Indonesia gained nothing from Bush's visit while the country lost 15 flights to and from the Ngurah Rai International Airport after the U.S. barred flights from 9:47 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. local time.

U.S. oil companies control many Indonesian oil wells and mining sites. -- Republika, Jakarta

Bush's Bali visit and perspective on RI-U.S. ties

The less-than-four-hour visit of U.S. President George W. Bush to Indonesia's Bali province could reflect Bush's attention to terrorist acts and his policy to spearhead campaigns against terrorism. Bush's position has triggered controversy among certain groups of people in the world.

Noted Indonesian Moslem preacher, Abdullah Gymnastiar, better known as Aa Gym, for example, has decided not to accept the U.S. government's invitation for a dialog with Bush.

Aa Gym, who said he would perform a minor haj pilgrimage when Bush visits Bali, rejects Bush's policy on terrorist acts.

Bush is believed to be practicing double standard on terrorist acts in the Middle East conflict, especially in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.

It is also regrettable that the US still sees Indonesia in a negative perspective, while Washington's policy on Iraq is not as good as Jakarta's policy on East Timor.

We thus hope that the meeting between Bush and Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri as well as the Islamic leaders in Bali on Oct. 22 would bring constructive results.

History has told us that closer ties and good cooperation between two countries could no longer be denied.

Rich countries such as the United States should be responsible for the problems of developing countries, among them poverty and injustice -- two factors which tend to cause terrorism.

-- Kompas, Jakarta